The first thing Verizon Wireless touts, is it’s contiguous 700 MHz spectrum across the continental U.S. and Hawaii, which will carry Verizon’s new LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G network.  Verizon plans on deploying 4G to 38 markets by the end of 2010, however, does not currently have a 4G enabled phone, but is expecting one by mid-2011.  The rest of the U.S.?  Well, you will just have to wait until 2013 for Verizon’s 4G to be in your area.

As for speed, Verizon expects download speeds of 5-12 Mbps, and upload speeds of 2-5 Mbps.  This is great speeds, exceeding most dsl and cable speeds.  However, one of the larger issues that PC gamers experience on wireless networks, is slow latency.  Here is the good news, Verizon’s LTE network will have 1/4 of the latency that their 3G network has.  All of this is great news for people who use the Verizon network for surveillance, video streaming, or other bandwidth intensive applications.

Another benefit, is the ability to have multiple users per time slot, as opposed to only one user being able to communicate data in a single time slot.  This leads to the faster latency times, and greater “always on” data connections.  Also, the LTE network has better building penetration, providing better signals deep inside a building.

LTE has a theoretical download speed of 100 Mbps, while its rival, HSPA has a theoretical download speed of 14.4 Mbps, according to Verizon’s website.